Calif city worker facing layoff jumps to his death

A city employee is held back by friends from confronting city managers at Costa Mesa City Hall after a maintenance worker jumped to his death Thursday, March 17, 2011 in Costa Mesa, Calif.

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Costa Mesa, Calif., say the city maintenance worker who jumped to his death from the roof of City Hall yesterday had been called in an hour earlier to get his layoff notice.

They say the man (Huy Pham) was on a list of more than 200 people -- nearly half of the city's workforce -- who were targeted for layoffs as part of a drastic move to plug a $15 million budget gap. Those who are getting the notices will see their jobs outsourced in six months.

Crisis counselors have been brought in to help co-workers.

According to the Orange County Register, the man had worked for the city for more than four years. He'd been at home with a broken ankle and wasn't supposed to work yesterday, but the newspaper says he was called in to receive his layoff notice.

His brother says there were no signs that his brother was in distress. He says when the layoffs were coming, his brother thought he'd probably be rehired by the new contractor.